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VMware Vib Installation

If you been using VMware for some time, you will have already heard about the VMware VIB. Have you ever tried to install one? Do you know how to use the community VIB for installation into your ESXi host?

On this blog, I will answer these questions. I will tell you my experience as I went through the installation of my new NSX environment.

To make sure that I benefitted from the VMware clusters and dvSwitches, I decided to separate the vCentre and the core infrastructure and host them on different servers. I choose an old server for the job, and decided to add another NIC adapter. I acquired a TP-Link TG-3468 PCI-E adapter and installed it into my ESXi host; however, VMware wouldn’t recognize it. I searched the Internet and was able to locate the VIB that enabled me to install the driver into my ESXi Host.

So, what does VMware VIB stand for?

VIB is the acronym for vSphere Installation Bundle. It is a way to package files containing VMware vSphere drivers, applications, and more that extend the ESXi capabilities.

Network Adapter Driver installation

Upload the downloaded file to your ESXi host. You can upload to your datastore

SSH to the ESXi host

Install community VIB bundle by running the following command:

esxcli software acceptance set –level=CommunitySupport

install the vib bundle using the following command:

esxcli software vib install -v /full-path-to/TP-Link3468.vib

reboot

Note 1: You cannot copy the command from this post and past on your ESXi SSH session. You must type in the command.

Note 2: You must provide the full path to the VIB.

Conclusion

I have been hearing about VIB a lot; but, I never touched it first hand until this week, and then only because I wanted to install a new driver for my new NIC adapter. The steps, as you can see, are very simple and straightforward. The only stipulation is that you type in the full path to the VIB; otherwise, the installation will fail.